Bravo, Prior sign for Victoria in Big Bash

West Indian allrounder Dwayne Bravo and English batsman Matt Prior will play for Victoria in Australia's Twenty20 Big Bash series next month, officials said on Friday.

Bravo has signed with Victoria for their first five matches of the tournament before returning to his own domestic T20 competition in the Caribbean.

Prior will join the team after the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney on January 9, officials said.

Bravo played a pivotal role in Victoria's successful 2009/10 Big Bash campaign, ending the tournament with 77 runs at a strike rate of 157.14 and four wickets.

Prior, England's Test wicket-keeper, believes the T20 Big Bash is one of the best competitions of its type in the world.

"When I was made aware of the Bushrangers (Victoria) needing a second overseas player a few weeks ago, I was really keen to join the team and be a part of the Big Bash competition," Prior said in a statement.

"The Big Bash looks like one of the best Twenty20 competitions in the world right now, the way it's promoted and advertised you can tell everyone in Australia is really excited about it."

Prior, 28, will play as a specialist batsman for the Bushrangers and has played 14 T20 matches for English County side Sussex this year, where he hit 443 runs including a high score of 117.

"I won't be keeping in this competition, so playing as a batsman, hopefully I can bring a lot of runs to the side," he said.

The Bushrangers' opening match of the Big Bash series is against the Queensland Bulls at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on January 2.